Zelda II Redux

[Greyfield]

Hi Shadow et al.,

Thanks for taking the time to put this together, it's really great.  It plays now like I, err... remember it back in the day.  Golly, nostalgia is a !@$!#.

Beyond thanking you, I wanted to drop in to provide some feedback on a really old item from Page One of the thread to remove the static raspy sounding typewriter noise by default (or make a one-byte optional patch for the average user who doesn't hex edit).  I guess I'm the only person who find it rough on the ears, since I didn't find mention of the typewriter noise in the remaining 47 pages of this thread.

With the faster text speed, I think the audible beep is sufficient enough feedback for reading.

Thanks again, and looking forward to the next Zelda Redux patch!

[ShadowOne333]

Hi Shadow et al.,

Thanks for taking the time to put this together, it's really great.  It plays now like I, err... remember it back in the day.  Golly, nostalgia is a !@$!#.

Beyond thanking you, I wanted to drop in to provide some feedback on a really old item from Page One of the thread to remove the static raspy sounding typewriter noise by default (or make a one-byte optional patch for the average user who doesn't hex edit).  I guess I'm the only person who find it rough on the ears, since I didn't find mention of the typewriter noise in the remaining 47 pages of this thread.

With the faster text speed, I think the audible beep is sufficient enough feedback for reading.

Thanks again, and looking forward to the next Zelda Redux patch!

I think someone mentioned it throughout the thread somewhere.
It's fairly easy to do.
I can make two variations of it, one that completely removes the sound, and another that changes the sound to another that doesn't sound as noisy.

Here's the optional patch for it, made it in like 10 mins:

Code Select Expand


//****************************************************************
// Change the Text printing sound from Dialog boxes
//****************************************************************

bank 3;
// Sound for Text printing per-character
org $B746 // 0x0F756
lda.b #$50 // Originally LDA #$60
sta.b $EF // Originally STA $EC, SFX Type 1
// Changed SFX Type from 1 to 3

Changing the lda.b #$50 to lda.b #$00 effectively removes the sound altogether, but to me it sounds kinda empty without it.
Nevertheless, I will be adding two optional patches, one that removes the sound altogether, and another that changes it for a less noisy one.

I already made the patches, I will update the hack page to add those two.

[Ok Impala!]

I like those new patches. I always thought the text writer sound felt a bit out of place with this game. Will definitely check out that alternative sound you created! 

[pimpkie]

hi first of all thanks for everything for this rom
dreams come true it's fantastic
i dunno if i have missed something but when i turn into a fairy at the tunnel under the grave to access the 3rd temple the spell doesn't work at all i still stay at my human being form
help me please 'cause what you' done to this hack so far is very important to me
i love this game so much
thanks for everything and to everyone who work on that project
keep up the good work

[Ok Impala!]

I wonder if it's intentional that Link's shield is cut off the way it is now?



In the new GFX patch the shield is complete.

[ifightdragons]

Are the two GFX patches compatible with each other? I'm a bit unclear as to what the real differences between them are.
Would it be possible to upload some comparison screenshots between the various GFX options?

And as a side note, what does the mystery patch really do? I have to be honest, I won't use it until I know what it actually does, and I suspect the same goes for most people patching. It's a novel idea, but it doesn't really work when people end up avoiding it.

As always, keep up the truly amazing work.

[ShadowOne333]

hi first of all thanks for everything for this rom
dreams come true it's fantastic
i dunno if i have missed something but when i turn into a fairy at the tunnel under the grave to access the 3rd temple the spell doesn't work at all i still stay at my human being form
help me please 'cause what you' done to this hack so far is very important to me
i love this game so much
thanks for everything and to everyone who work on that project
keep up the good work

Are you by any chance using any optional patch? Specifically, the New Exp patch?

I think the New Exp patch collides with the Fairy Cancel patch. I didn't notice they both use the same free space in the ROM. I moved the Fairy Cancel to 60 bytes later in the ROM, so they shouldn't collide anymore.
I'll be adding the fix today, but please let me know if you were indeed using that patch or not.
If you were, simply redownload and reapply your patches over the ROM and that should do it.

I wonder if it's intentional that Link's shield is cut off the way it is now?



In the new GFX patch the shield is complete.

It is intentional in default Redux. I redesigned some stuff to be closer to the original artwork, and in Zelda 2's original artwork you can see the shield in a similar shape.
I tried to give it a bit of a depth feel as if you were looking at the shield from an angle, and not from the front, and taking into account that a shield itself is supposed to have an arc to its design, and not be merely flat, so from that angle you wouldn't be able to see the other end of the shield. You can take this image of the official artwork for reference:



Same goes for the cross in the shield and the overall design of it.
The other GFX patches weren't done by me, simply modified to make them work with Redux based on other projects, given how many people wanted support for those.

Are the two GFX patches compatible with each other? I'm a bit unclear as to what the real differences between them are.
Would it be possible to upload some comparison screenshots between the various GFX options?

And as a side note, what does the mystery patch really do? I have to be honest, I won't use it until I know what it actually does, and I suspect the same goes for most people patching. It's a novel idea, but it doesn't really work when people end up avoiding it.

As always, keep up the truly amazing work.

The two GFX patches aren't compatible because the whole GFX are stored as one big BIN file.
The thing is, in order to actually cherry-pick certain assets from one or the other, you'd have to manually edit the assets you want from one or the other to make a custom one.
I actually had to redo a lot of stuff from those two optional GFX patches to make them work properly for Redux and its changes.

As for actual changes, the New GFX one mainly combines several patches, Rev's Edition and New Link sprite (and another one I think) which darthvaderx combined himself, and the other (Revility Edition Sprites) is merely Revility's Edition sprites, as it says, without the other ones implemented.

[pimpkie]

Are you by any chance using any optional patch? Specifically, the New Exp patch?

I think the New Exp patch collides with the Fairy Cancel patch. I didn't notice they both use the same free space in the ROM. I moved the Fairy Cancel to 60 bytes later in the ROM, so they shouldn't collide anymore.
I'll be adding the fix today, but please let me know if you were indeed using that patch or not.
If you were, simply redownload and reapply your patches over the ROM and that should do it.



It is intentional in default Redux. I redesigned some stuff to be closer to the original artwork, and in Zelda 2's original artwork you can see the shield in a similar shape.
I tried to give it a bit of a depth feel as if you were looking at the shield from an angle, and not from the front, and taking into account that a shield itself is supposed to have an arc to its design, and not be merely flat, so from that angle you wouldn't be able to see the other end of the shield. You can take this image of the official artwork for reference:



Same goes for the cross in the shield and the overall design of it.
The other GFX patches weren't done by me, simply modified to make them work with Redux based on other projects, given how many people wanted support for those.



The two GFX patches aren't compatible because the whole GFX are stored as one big BIN file.
The thing is, in order to actually cherry-pick certain assets from one or the other, you'd have to manually edit the assets you want from one or the other to make a custom one.
I actually had to redo a lot of stuff from those two optional GFX patches to make them work properly for Redux and its changes.

As for actual changes, the New GFX one mainly combines several patches, Rev's Edition and New Link sprite (and another one I think) which darthvaderx combined himself, and the other (Revility Edition Sprites) is merely Revility's Edition sprites, as it says, without the other ones implemented.

yeah indeed i used the new exp patch so, you said that you solved the issue ? i 'mma trying that right away thanks for the reply it's a pleasure to follow your work so far

i'm looking forward to see what marvelous patch will be added

keep up the good work 

[King Luigi]

Nevertheless, I will be adding two optional patches, one that removes the sound altogether,
and another that changes it for a less noisy one.

Oh, uhh... since you've gone and done a little sound edit
would you consider looking into 1 other sound then?

For some reason whenever you pick up a small item
(like a key, magic drop or a "p bag") they had it use
the same sound as the Sword Beam of all things.
So.. could you try removing/replacing that sound too?
(I think that shrill beep just gets used far too frequently, to be honest.)

It already seems to play a 2nd sound anyway,
so that by itself should be good enough (..probably).

Also, ever since v2.0, the Level Up screen has a weird detail.
Now the magic boost has changed to say "MGK.".
If it's gonna be shortened like that, shouldn't it be "MGC."?
(I believe Redux originally went with "MAG.", so there's that.)
Still true in v2.3 and this was without any extra patches, just so you know.

[Greyfield]

I think someone mentioned it throughout the thread somewhere.
It's fairly easy to do.
I can make two variations of it, one that completely removes the sound, and another that changes the sound to another that doesn't sound as noisy.

Here's the optional patch for it, made it in like 10 mins:

Code Select Expand


//****************************************************************
// Change the Text printing sound from Dialog boxes
//****************************************************************

bank 3;
// Sound for Text printing per-character
org $B746 // 0x0F756
lda.b #$50 // Originally LDA #$60
sta.b $EF // Originally STA $EC, SFX Type 1
// Changed SFX Type from 1 to 3

Changing the lda.b #$50 to lda.b #$00 effectively removes the sound altogether, but to me it sounds kinda empty without it.
Nevertheless, I will be adding two optional patches, one that removes the sound altogether, and another that changes it for a less noisy one.

I already made the patches, I will update the hack page to add those two.

Thanks Shadow! That new updated sound is great substitute, too.

[ShadowOne333]

I'll see what I can do about changing the sound for when you collect an item like the P-Bag, Magic Jar or others.
I can't promise anything, but I'll try to track down the code that is in charge of that sound in particular, and then test what other sound from Zelda 2 could be a good replacement for that one.

[Ok Impala!]

I'm really interested in that too. Looking forward to what you come up with! 

[Trax]

For reference, here's a text file with Music and Sound Codes :

http://www.bwass.org/romhack/zelda2/musicsoundcodes.txt

It's not complete, but it's what I compiled so far. Music Code is stored in $EB, and sounds are stored in $EC, $ED, $EE and $EF. I think there's some priority mechanism accorded to certain sounds relative to others, and relative to the music, but I'm not sure how this works exactly. Or maybe there's no mechanism at all and it's simply the last sound played that wins over others. Also, as far as I know, you can't use normal game sound effects while in the Selection Screen or Intro, and the sounds are actually made of music notes, so they use $EB.

If you find other sounds or something to be corrected, please let me know.

[ShadowOne333]

For reference, here's a text file with Music and Sound Codes :

http://www.bwass.org/romhack/zelda2/musicsoundcodes.txt

It's not complete, but it's what I compiled so far. Music Code is stored in $EB, and sounds are stored in $EC, $ED, $EE and $EF. I think there's some priority mechanism accorded to certain sounds relative to others, and relative to the music, but I'm not sure how this works exactly. Or maybe there's no mechanism at all and it's simply the last sound played that wins over others. Also, as far as I know, you can't use normal game sound effects while in the Selection Screen or Intro, and the sounds are actually made of music notes, so they use $EB.

If you find other sounds or something to be corrected, please let me know.

I found the code which apparently is in charge of setting the SFX specifically when picking up an item with the Sword. Took a bit of debugging, but I think I narrowed it down with FCEUX.
To pair it up to your disassembly, Trax, it's this code in Bank 7:

Code Select Expand


1E7F4: 20 80E8 JSR $E880

1E7F7: B5 AF LDA $AF,X
1E7F9: 29 7F AND #$7F ; keep bits .xxx xxxx
1E7FB: A8 TAY
1E7FC: B9 E6E7 LDA $E7E6,Y
1E7FF: 9D 1404 STA $0414,X
1E802: A9 08 LDA #$08 ; A = 08
1E804: 85 EF STA $EF ; Sound Effects Type 4
1E806: A9 00 LDA #$00 ; A = 00
1E808: 9D 0405 STA $0504,X

1E80B: 60 RTS

Specifically the LDA #$08, STA $EF which are in charge of setting the SFX for collecting the item.
I tried all of the possible sound effect types (EC, ED, EE, EF), and I found 2 suitable sounds which could be a good replacement.

Sword Hit on Shield     Magic Spell     
LDA #$02,STA $EC   / LDA #$04,STA $EC

The thing is though, I am not too sure about which one to go to.
The only other sounds that could be a feasible option are the "Enemy Is Hit" or the "Enemy Destroyed" sounds, but I'm not too sure about those.

For anyone interested in wanting to hear what those sound like, go to 0x1E812 in a Hex editor and change this:
[A9 08 85 EF] for either [A9 02 85 EC] or [A9 04 85 EC]
For other two options, you could also try [A9 10 85 ED] or [A9 04 85 EF].
I will see which one of those 4 sounds I might choose for picking up an item.


Btw, Trax, from my tests, I got that Sound $02 in $EF seems to be part of the Fairy sound loop which plays when Link is transformed into one. Maybe this is dependent on location, and $01 in $EC seems to be when Link dies.



Oh I forgot to reply to this in particular:

Also, ever since v2.0, the Level Up screen has a weird detail.
Now the magic boost has changed to say "MGK.".
If it's gonna be shortened like that, shouldn't it be "MGC."?
(I believe Redux originally went with "MAG.", so there's that.)
Still true in v2.3 and this was without any extra patches, just so you know.

The change was intentional.
I made the change since MGK is an abbreviation often used in RPGs to refer to Magic/Magick/Magik.
MGC or MAG is also another one, but I feel like RPGs use MGK more often than those other two.

[TheSkipper1995]

Been playing through the official release and I'm having a pretty great time with it. One minor complaint I have, and this may just be me, but I've found myself accidentally activating the manual save from the pause screen frequently. Might I suggest having it be something a little harder to accidentally activate? Like 'select' + up instead of 'a' or something? Again, may just be me but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

[ifightdragons]

Been playing through the official release and I'm having a pretty great time with it. One minor complaint I have, and this may just be me, but I've found myself accidentally activating the manual save from the pause screen frequently. Might I suggest having it be something a little harder to accidentally activate? Like 'select' + up instead of 'a' or something? Again, may just be me but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

Definitely do not use Select + Up/Down, as it is the most common hotkey used for save states on EverDrives, as well as a regular menu shortcut on the Nt Mini.

[ShadowOne333]

It's quite hard to come up with a good Button combo to save for Zelda 2.

You need to have the game Paused in either Overworld or Side-Scroll, and then do a button input.
It could be one button, or two, but the thing is, and as @ifightdragons mentioned, some flashcarts already use combos for save states and such by using Select + another button, so we gotta be careful as to which button combos we use for it. Select is out of the question for that very reason, as any time a user tries to do a save state, flashcart users will trigger the manual Save and be kicked out of gameplay. Select is also used for activating Spells, so it is used in-game too.

Up+A is a well known combination, which is not only implemented for Zelda 2, but also in Zelda 1 and other NES games that use saving, like Metroid, which uses the same combo as well.

[Cyneprepou4uk]

You can implement a Konami Code-like save activation, or activation by holding a combination for n frames.

You can also set this combination as a variable and allow users to change buttons which they want by themselves before compilation. Or a bunch of prepared optional patches with different combinations.

Anyway, it sounds more like Skipper's own problem because his paws are all over the gamepad or something. But I don't actually know what exactly is happening during a pause in this game, so who am I to judge 

[BackPalSA]

I was curious if it would be possible to implement a new spell in the game? Specifically, one that might increase Link's movement speed by a small amount? I've always been interested in this game but it is just such a *slow moving* game to me.

[TheSkipper1995]

as @ifightdragons mentioned, some flashcarts already use combos for save states and such by using Select + another button, so we gotta be careful as to which button combos we use for it.

Ah, that is a tricky situation... Maybe try a Link's Awakening style save but just exclude select? Like A+B+Start?